Season 7, Episode 1: "The Matriarch's Orphanage" Report

General Summary

Knocked unconscious as they were thrust out of the Silence Between, the Dream Team were haunted by their second grand vision in as many days, overwhelmed with warnings originating across the stars (see "It Won't Be Long - Season 7" for more information). Hours later, they awoke in the company of the Matriarch, nestled into beds far too small, made for the usual occupants of the Lionshead Academy & Orphanage.
After ensuring that they were safe, the crew hit the breakfast table, joined by Shalema, Langdon, and a tiny representative of TRAVIS. Mist caught up with the crew, and shared some of his own journey in return, thanking Langdon for his assistance in finding him. Although bashful about their original relationship, the old Death seemed rejuvenated by his good deed, and eventually slipped away when the group was distracted with crosstalk, claiming a need to talk to Pharasma and seek forgiveness.
The crew then decided to return to Ezorod, where their conversations would be more private. However, Mist was surprised to discover that Isra had received the Blessing of the Surgeon, and the Dream Team seemed intent on using it after his mental breakdown in the Void. While he attempted to flee, he was successfully distracted by Carrot and Wonton, allowing Isra to cast the Blessing, healing Mist's sanity (removing all traumas), the taint of Wither in his soul, and even his old wounds from the destruction of the Maelstrom.
Feeling much better, Mist explained Petal Theory to the group (which is summarized in "The Fifth Edict") as well as the information he learned from Chess before the Pact Summit. This led to a massive rabbit hole of question and answer sessions, some of which was facilitated by Carrot, but led to the following major plot threads:

1. Across the Entwined Infinities, few Iterations have made it past current day, give or take up to two years. At best, either Rufus Geldenleaf or Jestyr will end this existence, although the latter has never achieved this.
2. Rufus is attempting to create Paradise, and thus restarts most of existence if he isn't happy with its current direction. This is the typical outcome, and has resulted in a great nexus of power in Carnival and the First World, which the Outer Gods are eager to feast on.
3. Jestyr wants destroy this entire Petal, and feed that energy to his masters. As per prophecy, the Owls of Dylath-Leen aid in this endeavor, but Carrot pointed out that it is always against his will (even killing himself doesn't stop the event from occurring). They usually achieve this by waking the Beast of Armageddon on Aucturn, which requires the powers of Rovagug and Jestyr as "sacrifices".
4. Raemus wants balance, such that neither Rufus or Jestyr get to take action, and hopes the universe will get to live out its natural life. He believes this is good for the Godhead, and will allow him to actually reach Paradise.
5. Aroden doesn't care about the Petal at large, but wants to Hop Golarion away from the fallout. He contains the core of Rovagug in a lantern, which Carrot revealed was the enduring spirit of Lalantha. Without its core, the rest of Rovagug is known as the Devourer.
6. Asmodeus wants to take over all of existence, replacing both Rufus and Jestyr, and make the entire Petal in the image of Hell.
7. Similarly, Confluence is attempting to take over the celestial domains from Rufus, Vic, and Nazeema.
8. Valentina and the Order of the Mirror at large resist Jestyr's efforts, but her personal goal is to find another spider for her hut, and Hop to another universe before the end.
9. The Forge was a First Ones experiment to see if one could Hop a planet, but this seems to have ended in failure, as they were only able to achieve Skipping.
10. It is possible that the System is entirely neutral in this conflict, or maybe a part of the Mirror, and thus has an alien agenda.

Finishing up the overwhelming session of existential conversations, the group decided they were roughly on the same page, but wanted some time to think about it. Notably, Flay wanted to try the Shoot Key trial on the Rambling Road, with hopes that this might lead to a conversation with Unari.
Then Tesin reconvened with Shalema, finally sitting down for a long-due chat. She learned that Ololot was a species known as a Gray Goo, and served the will of the Grays. His goal was to create a perfect lifeform — one with his ability to dismantle matter, but with the critical thinking and ethics of a mortal. Ololot showed Tesin a brief vision of the eons he'd been trying to achieve this, killing entire civilizations, even causing the initial mutation that created the Swarm. Everything changed when he found Shalema, with whom he could create a stable genetic link, and thus the Child of Ambrosia was born.
Unfortunately, Shalema had her own news, and revealed that Ololot had attempted a similar genetic mixing with TRAVIS during their journeys, and that the AI seemed to have developed a second core. This was the explanation for his recent, erratic behavior, as well as his ability to separate his consciousness from the ship. Alarmed, the group rushed over to check on the ship, and Shalema transferred all officer rights back to the team.
After some intense questioning by Lockette, it became evident that something was wrong with TRAVIS, and that his self-diagnosis protocols could no longer detect his psychic imbalance. But when the crew attempted to correct this, the AI became incredibly guarded, and asked that they calm down and join him in a conference room.
When they arrived, the nanite ship crumbled around them, turning one of the Dream Team's greatest weapons back at them, and pulling the Road Key from Isra's pocket. Turning the key in a door, he shunted them out of the ship, and unmade the door behind them, believing them to be trapped until he decided to remake the door.
Aware of alternative routes back to the Material Plane, the Dream Team began to plot their next move, only to notice a shuffling form hanging about the central well...

Rewards Granted

Tarot Deck

• Isra used the Blessing of the Surgeon on Mist.

Loot

• None

Created Content

New and updated articles for:

• Mind
• Body
• Soul
• Groundskeeping
• Chamas
• Dedlam's Bones
• Vaughn Blackblood
• Heart of Armageddon
• It Won't Be Long - Season 7

Notes

My hot takes:

• Shalema is just a woman who had a really bad day about 20 years ago, has been trying to get her life back ever since, and everyone hates her for it.
• Ololot is just a computer program, and he only cares about finishing execution.
• Petal Theory is just a metaphor. Everybody calm down.
• I hear a lot of complaints about Vaughn, but he doesn't go around fucking people's spaceships. I'm waiting for them to start missing him.

Campaign

The Centurion's Riddle

Protagonists

Flame in the Night

Tesin Movahesh

Thunder in the Mist

Lockette Endrinmaster 12 2.0

Isra

Report Date

23 Jan 2022

Primary Location

Ezorod

Secondary Location

Lionshead Academy & Orphanage

Related Historical Events

• 317 AG
  The Great Awakening